$15/hr? Does home care deserve it?

My name’s Avonne, and I’m a home care worker. Last week, home care workers, fast food workers, hospital workers, and other underpaid workers across all industries marched for $15 and union rights in 340 cities nationwide.

In Philadelphia, Denise Major and I were arrested to show home care workers will not back down in our fight for $15 an hour.

I never thought I would be on the streets protesting, let alone participating in civil disobedience, but I chose to take a stand because I’m not just fighting for a raise—I’m fighting for a better life for my children, my grandchildren, and my great-grandchildren.

We knew it takes disrupting business as usual to make our voices heard, so we took the over an intersection in front of City Hall, and when police ordered us to leave, we didn’t back down and continued chanting for $15 an hour until we were arrested.

I just joined the Fight for $15 a few months ago, and I am so inspired by what our movement has accomplished since it began four years ago, winning $62 billion in raises for 22 million Americans.

Pennsylvania home care workers still only make an average of $10.26 an hour, so we can’t—and won’t—stop here.